It was dawn when they began again. Leoh entered the dueling machine determined to allow Hector to win. He gave the youthful Star Watchman his choice of weapon and environment. Hector picked one-man scoutships, in planetary orbits. Their weapons were conventional force beams. But despite his own conscious desire, Leoh found himself winning! The ships spiraled about an unnamed planet, their paths intersecting at least once in every orbit. The problem was to estimate your opponent’s orbital position, and then program your own ship so that you arrived at that position either behind or to one side of him. Then you could train your guns on him before he could turn on you. The problem should have been an easy one for Hector, with his knack for intuitive mental calculation. But Leoh scored the first hit—Hector had piloted his ship into an excellent firing position, but his shot went wide; Leoh maneuvered around clumsily, but managed to register an inconsequential hit on the side of Hector’s ship. In the next three passes, Leoh scored two more hits. Hector’s ship was badly damaged now. In return, the Star Watchman had landed one glancing shot on Leoh’s ship. They came around again, and once more Leoh had outguessed his younger opponent. He trained his guns on Hector’s ship, then hesitated with his hand poised above the firing button. _Don’t kill him again_, he warned himself. _His mind can’t accept another defeat._ But Leoh’s hand, almost of its own will, reached the button and touched it lightly. Another gram of pressure and the guns would fire. In that instant’s hesitation, Hector pulled his crippled ship around and aimed at Leoh. The Watchman fired a searing blast that jarred Leoh’s ship from end to end. Leoh’s hand slammed down on the firing button, whether he intended to do it or not, he did not know. Leoh’s shot raked Hector’s ship but did not stop it. The two vehicles were hurtling directly at each other. Leoh tried desperately to avert a collision, but Hector bored in grimly, matching Leoh’s maneuvers with his own. The two ships smashed together and exploded. Abruptly, Leoh found himself in the cramped booth of the dueling machine, his body cold and damp with perspiration, his hands trembling. He squeezed out of the booth and took a deep breath. Warm sunlight was streaming into the high-vaulted room. The white walls glared brilliantly. Through the tall windows he could see trees and people and clouds in the sky. Hector walked up to him. For the first time in several days, the Watchman was smiling. Not much, but smiling. “Well, we broke even on that one.” Leoh smiled back, somewhat shakily. “Yes. It was ... quite an experience. I’ve never died before.” Hector fidgeted. “It’s uh, not so bad, I guess—It does sort of, well, shatter you, you know.” “Yes I can see that now.” “Another duel?” Hector asked, nodding his head toward the machine. “Let’s get out of this place for a few hours. Are you hungry?” “Starved.”